Lorna Patterson (born October 1, 1956) is an American film, stage and television actress and, more recently, a Jewish

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

. As an actress, her best-known roles were as Randy, the singing stewardess, in ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hay ...

'', and as the lead in the television series '' Private Benjamin''.

Biography

Patterson was born in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States ...

, where she attended

Rio Hondo College Rio Hondo College is a public community college in Whittier, California. The college is named after the Rio Hondo. Founded in 1960, it mainly serves the cities of Whittier, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, El Monte, and South El Monte. Rio Hond ...

for a single semester. Patterson began her professional career while still in high school, performing melodrama at The Bird Cage Theatre at

Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...

Career

She is a founding member of the Musical Theatre Guild and has appeared in many stage musicals. She played Randy, the blonde stewardess in the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

comedy ''

''. She co-starred with

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play ''The Odd Couple'' by Neil Sim ...

in the 1981 television pilot'' Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend''. By the time this became the television series ''

Love, Sidney ''Love, Sidney'' is an American sitcom television series which aired two seasons on NBC, from October 28, 1981, to June 6, 1983. It stars Tony Randall as Sidney Shorr (a single, closeted gay man), Swoosie Kurtz as Laurie Morgan (a single mother wi ...

'', she had won the lead role in the 1981–1983 television version of the film '' Private Benjamin'', so her ''Sidney Shorr'' role was played in ''Love, Sidney'' by

Swoosie Kurtz Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Kurtz made her Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony ...

. Earlier, she had been a regular on two short-lived series, '' Working Stiffs'' and ''

Goodtime Girls ''Goodtime Girls'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from January 22, 1980, until August 29, 1980. It was created by Leonora Thuna, and produced by Thomas L. Miller, Edward K. Milkis and Robert L. Boyett, in association with Garry Marsha ...

''. She also played Liz Drever in 1984, in ''

The Flying Doctors ''The Flying Doctors'' is an Australian drama TV series produced by Crawford Productions that revolves around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. T ...

'', episodes 2, 3 and 4, in Australia. Patterson has also lent her voice to some animated productions including the TV series ''

Timeless Tales from Hallmark ''Timeless Tales from Hallmark'' is an American live-action/animated direct-to-video series of fairy tale adaptations hosted by Olivia Newton-John, produced by Hanna-Barbera and Hallmark Cards. Eight videocassettes were released between 1990 and ...

'', the direct to video film ''

Joseph and his Brothers ''Joseph and His Brothers'' (''Joseph und seine Brüder'') is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph (chapters 27–50), setting it in the hi ...

'' from '' The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible'', the English dub of the Japanese anime film '' Ultraman: The Adventure Begins'' and the Christmas special ''Nick & Noel''.

Personal life

Patterson was married to actor

Robert Ginty Robert Winthrop Ginty (November 14, 1948 – September 21, 2009) was an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director perhaps best known for playing Thomas Craig Anderson on the television series '' The Paper Chase''. Early life Ginty wa ...

. Patterson worked with Ginty's first wife,

Francine Tacker Francine Tacker (born September 15, 1946) is an American actress known for appearing as Jenna Wade in 2 episodes of the soap opera ''Dallas'' in 1980. Tacker was the second actress to play the character, succeeding Morgan Fairchild and preceding ...

in the 1980 series ''Goodtime Girls'', which also starred

Annie Potts Anne Hampton Potts (born October 28, 1952) is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ''Corvette Summer'' (1978) and won a Genie Award for '' Heartaches'' (1981), before appearing in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Pretty i ...

and

Georgia Engel Georgia Bright Engel (July 28, 1948 – April 12, 2019) was an American actress. She is best known for having played Georgette Franklin Baxter in the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' from 1972 to 1977, Pat MacDougall on ''Everybody Loves Ra ...

. She is currently married to actor/director

Michael Lembeck Michael Lembeck (born June 25, 1948) is an American actor and television and film director. Best known as Max Horvath in '' One Day at a Time'' (1979-1984). Life and career Lembeck was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Caroline Dubs and ...

, and the couple have two children. Patterson

converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. " ...

a few years after marrying Lembeck (his faith). In 2009 she received her cantorial ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Los Angeles."Cantor Lorna Lembeck"
,

Academy for Jewish Religion (California) The Academy for Jewish Religion California (AJRCA), is a Jewish seminary in Los Angeles. It trains rabbis, cantors and chaplains to serve congregations and organizations of any Jewish denomination.Nancy Sokoler Steiner"Academy of Jewish Religion ...

(accessed 2014-08-06).

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Lorna 1956 births Actors from Whittier, California Actresses from California American film actresses American Jewish University alumni American musical theatre actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Converts to Judaism Hazzans Jewish American actresses Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women